“You plan on standing around my barn in your underwear all day?” The amusement in his voice got him a hint of a smile from her.

She gave him barely a glance before turning back to Ace. “Now, Luke, we both know I’m not wearing underwear.”

Fire flashed through his system. Sultry, erotic images filled his mind. His hands itched to reach out and touch her. He could practically see her dusky nipples through the skin-tight tank. Although the flannel boxers weren’t exactly lingerie, they drove him crazy. Her long slender legs could stop traffic. And the fact that her toenails were grape-juice purple made him smile. Her tousled hair framed cheeks flushed from her early morning ride, and the muscles in her arms went taut as she worked the brush over Ace.

He saw the strength, not only in her body, but in her.

“You have an amazing voice.”

“Thanks.”

He wanted to keep her talking and erase what he thought he knew about her with something real. “Did you sing at school or church when you were a kid?”

“No.”

He waited, hoping she’d go on.

She met his steady gaze, made some silent decision, and went back to brushing Ace. Finally she confided, “When I was young, I lived on my uncle’s ranch. Not a ranch as nice as yours, but a run-down place. The barn was falling apart, the house and outbuildings were all dilapidated, but the horses were well tended. My uncle raised them and sold them to keep the ranch, but he never seemed to profit. He spent his life trying to hold on.”

He couldn’t believe she’d open up about the one thing he really wanted to know about without him prompting her.

She sighed. “It made him mean, that constant battle to keep the bank from taking everything.” She kissed Ace on the nose and stared into his eyes. “Anyway, one of the ranch hands had a radio he brought to work each day. I’d listen to the songs and sing along. It was the only form of entertainment I had. I loved music.” Wistfulness filled her voice. She went quiet for a moment. “When he got fired, I missed the music, but I had a knack for remembering the songs, so I would sing while I worked. It gave me comfort. The horses never seemed to mind if I got a lyric wrong or couldn’t hit a note.” She gave Luke a half smile over her shoulder.

“Why’d the guy get fired?”

“For bringing the radio and making me happy.” The matter-of-fact way she said it didn’t hide the anger and resentment and remorse. “Like I said, my uncle was a mean man.”

Luke wanted to ask how mean. He wanted to know if he’d hurt Sarah.

The answer was clear in the way she spoke.

“When he found out the guy liked my singing and I liked the music, he got rid of both. He said I was distracting his men. I needed to concentrate on my job, and not some fanciful pastime. Since I’d cost him a worker, too, I had to do my job and his.”